A time capsule of the greatest financial mania in the history of mankind, told in real-time by regular folks and patriots. May future generations better understand the madness of crowds, and how power and money corrupt.

I would suggest for a hotel and convention room the Monte Carlo. They are one of the cheapest for rooms, yet still have the feeling of business class. The convention rooms are cheap as well, although the hotel's catered food sucks.

For my company I have scheduled two conferences at the Monte Carlo finding it the most economical place in vegas to both stay at and have the convention room. Not to mention your right there on the strip with access to trams and walkways.

I could get some numbers together is someone gives me an estimate of attendees. My general use email is: cal_ford@hotmail.com. Any responses I get I will post here.

Come one come all. Do you believe 9/11 was a hoax? Do you believe Jews rule the world? Do you live in your momma's basement? Have you been a renter all your life? Have you never had a job that didn't require a name tag?

I was in Vegas in early December. Mandalay Bay is a great new hotel that adjoins the new convention center. Not horribly pricey. A short indoor walk away is the slightly older and cheaper Egyptian-themed Luxor, which I thought was an acceptable compromise. We could make Mandalay Bay the main hotel and Luxor the less expensive alternative.

Well, in all seriousness, I think it would be fun and worthwhile. Imagine to be able to speak freely about the state of real estate! I go to LV alot for my job and Monte Carlo is a nice place. Not over the top, just decent (for a casino on the strip). I would love to see Peter Schiff or Russ Winter, or Krowne, the usual suspects. I work for the Dept. of the Interior and could inquire about things to do at Red Rock, Lake Mead, etc. Let me know how I can help!

Are you going to warn the HPers from outside the area just how deadly hot Las Vegas is in July? I was there for the 4th of July last year. I remember news stories of people dying from the heat when the electricity (read: air conditioning) went out for a large block of homes.

How about the 4 Seasons? Compliments of a non-defunct/untapped HELOC!!

Just kidding, take vacation during the week, hotels will be dying to get people to fill the rooms (Su-Th). I am already getting 2 for 1 offers from the Wynn ($119 for 2 nights). Don't care for the clientele, but hey, at least they did not sell out to Dubai a la MGM Mirage. Harrah's is out for me too; they ruined the Rio and no longer have the hottest chicks slinging drinks. Shit, not much left unless you go off-strip (Station or Coast Hotel/Casino).

This sucks, now I am jonseing for a drink and a hot dice table. Thanks, Keith, you couldn't wait until after April 15th. Can you tell I am a Vegas junky?!?!?

A good invite is Mr. Walker of the GAO; thank you for the great post regarding the $52 Trillion obligation.

Dr. Housing Bubble is another great invite.

If this deal goes down and the timing is right, I would check it out (it helps extend my minimal Las Vegas beautification fund budget).

We could have two official hotels one for bubble sitters who sold at the peak, invested the proceeds and rented (The Hotel at Mandalay) and one for bitter renters and reformed REIC down on their luck (excalibur)

I hate hotel conference rooms so I think we need a better place to hang, maybe rent out one of the high-roller suites

Most fun is gonna be hitting the condos and new home developments with 80% off offers. We might make realtors cry though if we do the math with 'em

Vegas in July is actually OK - as long as you're inside or at the pool. It's so hot it's funny but it's a dry heat!

Forget the strip and the consumption zombies. It has to be where it's still really Las Vegas--downtown! How about the Golden Nugget? Great since renovation and on of the best steak houses (Vic & Anthony's) in Vegas.

1) I stayed at Bally's a few times, it was like $59 a night and right in the middle of the strip. I figure most HP'ers are pragmatic folks who couldnt care less about staying in a bling hotel, but ya never know

2) what experts to inviteSchiff for sure!! Maybe someone from UNLV or LV area to talk about the local housing market which is about as crappy as it gets

3) Coordinator and committee nominees

I nominate Andrew Hac to organize the whole thing

4) schedule/forum topicsLocal temparature report from attendees, wouldnt have to be big or anything, maybe just a short spiel on how bubbly your town became, how much it has popped, and what the future looks like

no mention in the main stream media about Ron Pauls amazing trouncing of Johc McCain and his slight loss to Romney in Nevada, nor his place in the Carolinas where McCain trounced Romney.. guess the foreign buyings of war materials treasonous bleedings of the U.S treasury and the people of the U.S by the militay industrial complex in foreign lands and its proponites like Pelosi"s husband and their muting bribings to the press, will enable the bankrupting of all moneys and freedoms of the brainwashed sheeple and the empowerment of the new worldists and their 21st century war machine and thecontinued profits of anti U.S industrialist governments

OK Keith...I checked out the Mandalay...I personally don't think that the suites are pimpin enough for the price although the "1500" looks ok as it is a 2BR for around 1400 for two nights. The vista suites seem to be gone and the media suite is only a 1BR.

Should we look for a penthouse condo somewhere that the owner is willing to rent for a week? Lemme check out CL and see what's up.

Hell, let's play smart here and go after sponsors to pay for our sh!t (i.e., book writers or publishers, hedge funds that bet on doom, etc). Let's make this convention turn into some type of non-profit to take the country back.

1) I agree that we should keep this simple - the general theme is just hanging out, having beers and talking real estate bubble, econ, whatever.

2) I like the idea of having a series of local reviews of real estate markets, on a volunteer basis. Just basic average incomes, average rents, average home prices, maybe a graph or 2, whatever you can come up with. State where average home prices should be and why.

3) I don't really care what hotel - I just suggested mandalay and luxor because those are the only 2 I know.

4) The invitation should be extended to the friendly bubble sites like housingdoom, itulip, bostonbubble, patrick.net, etc.

5) Are we going to have to pay for a keynote speaker? Or would some companies/authors send a representative to deliver a talk based on the hope of acquiring clients or selling books (ie: europacific capital)? Even if we don't get Schiff himself, we might be able to get a good presentation from someone under Schiff's aegis.

I think this could be the start of something BIG. Let's get other bubble blogs to meet us there also, like Patrick' blog, Dr. Housing bubble, Flippers in Trouble, etc.

Let's organise this, get media coverage, and generate public noise, that way we'll get Shiller or maybe even Ron Paul, of all people to show up.

Then we'll do a march down Las Vegas boulevard, holding hands like they did with Martin Luther King protests, and we'll all march to the failed condos in Vegas, where Ron Paul will say a speech about FBers just walking away and saying "Free at Last, Free at Last, thank God almighty we are free at Last!!!"

In terms of geek/nerd content, this thing will make Star Trek conventions will downright cool.

Qweefie I am in just to see the spectacle. Fat, bald, middle-aged, divorced, paranoid men drinking beer and discussing how the world is out to get them....I think you could get a VH1 reality TV deal out of this.

You spend days, weeks, months and years bitching about Americanos this and Americanos that. You all boast about how different and special and anti-Americano you are. You boast about how you don't follow trends and are not sheeple. You are all independent thinkers, much smarter than the Americanos you so despise.

And yet where do you hold your convention? Las Vegas. The #1 Americano vacation destination. Only way you could be more mainsteam would be to have it at Disneyworld.

Also check out the Platinum Hotel Suites on Flamingo. I had my 10 year company party in Vegas and put all my employees up there. They loved it, it's a boutique type hotel with no casino a block from the strip. One of those little known secrets. Just a tip from someone who knows the city well.................

increase in military activity tonight. boys what is going on? do not do this thing fellas. do not do it. refuse to do it please for the sake of humanity. do not do this thing you are being told to do.....pray for america, pray for the world, pray that level heads will prevail....

Only way you could be more mainsteam would be to have it at Disneyworld.--------------------

Yes, and we're all going on the Pirates of the Caribbean. We plan on getting off the boat half way through and seize the Spanish forte. Then we'll hob nob with the pirate robots and drink the water from the pirate stream. (This has always been a dream of mine (lol)).

We need to get a travel agency involved if the number of participants is large enough. The travel agency can organize the entire thing for a huge discount, including getting better hotel rates and free goodies (i.e, shows, buffet, rides, coupons, etc).

Hey HP'ers, ignore all the attacks here, and don't even reply to them. The trolls are afraid or jealous. Typical Zionists and REIC racks. So let them bitch about it while we organize the HP Drunkfest 1.0!

Anyone else got ideas?? *****5. My House Is Worth What? :-(6. Food Hunters7. Designed to Sell for Much Less than I Initially Paid8. Scrap This House 9. What You Get for the Jar of Hoarded Gold Coins You Buried in the Backyard10. Dollar Splash!11. Substanance Gardening by the Tiny Three-Foot-Wide Strip of Yard Surrounding Your 4,000 Square Foot Crapbox12. Sweat It, Seriously

Monte Carlo is cheapest on the strip, $60/night during certain months.Oh yes you f*cking shit for brains renting retards and bean eating IT employees. I think a convention in Las Vegas is a most excellent idea. There is a place much better and "cheaper" than the Monte Carlo. May I suggest the “choice” venue for such a convention where you can meet and commiserate with your fellow imbecile morons. King's Row Trailer Park Inc at 3660 Boulder Highway in Las Vegas boasts all the inconveniences cherished by renters and homeless idiots. Trailer trash whores, heavily armed pimps and drug dealers, bag ladies and rag men all living on pennies on the dollar. They will be welcoming you with a spam and potato soup and a pair of warm but used socks. Don’t complain to me if you find some filthy underwear in your welcoming package too. Now continue to pick your nose you brain amputated piece of shit renter.

Anon said:"We need to get a travel agency involved if the number of participants is large enough. The travel agency can organize the entire thing for a huge discount, including getting better hotel rates and free goodies (i.e, shows, buffet, rides, coupons, etc)."

Exactly. We need to start a list with names. How should we do this? I want to get it started, anyone have any connections with any travel agency?

Anyone else want to partner up with me? I dont think I'll be able to tackle it alone.

And by the way- to all the Lady HP'ers... make an effort to attend in Vegas. I dont want to be the only one!

Maybe we should have security too, judging from mentally ill people like Blowfly who is probably losing their a** to debt.

The more I think about how I have rented for the last 5 years and how I see most everyone I know who owns in serious trouble, the more I see I was right.

Of course home debtors and real estate agents were not so right and now they should be considered armed and dangerous. If anyone is confronted by one of these physcho's the procedure should be the following:

- Smile, do not move.- Nod to everything they say.- DO NOT admit you are, or ever have rented.- Act stupid and weak and indicate you wish to buy a home asap.- The assailant will become calm, almost normal.- This is your window of opportunity - RUUUUUUNNNNNN

Anon said:"We need to get a travel agency involved if the number of participants is large enough. The travel agency can organize the entire thing for a huge discount, including getting better hotel rates and free goodies (i.e, shows, buffet, rides, coupons, etc)."

Exactly. We need to start a list with names. How should we do this? I want to get it started, anyone have any connections with any travel agency?

Anyone else want to partner up with me? I dont think I'll be able to tackle it alone.

And by the way- to all the Lady HP'ers... make an effort to attend in Vegas. I dont want to be the only one!

January 22, 2008 4:38 PM<<

that's right. if you are the only one, we won't have anyone else to pick on...

I cant wait to meet Princess Mononoke at the HP convention :) I just hope she isnt really a fat balding middle aged paranoid man who drinks beer and bitches about how the world is out to get 'em - like the rest of us are.

If you asinine moronic imbecile 1BR shit hole renters really intend to go through with this retarded plan to hold a convention amongst yourselves, then you surely need to have world class entertainment. While I usually don't associate with your kind of scum, I do however believe that money doesn't stink. You can book my mind bending performances via my website unless of course you're too dumb to use Google.

Okay, so once you have the convention, and everyone toasts each other for being right and smarter than anyone else in America, and then the economy collapses and 10% of America is unemployed, what will the new topic be here?

In response to people who think HP'ers are gloating and love bad news and pain, let me express more how I see myself and other HP'ers.

I need to refer to the bible, where the Hebrews gathered up a bunch of evil doing witches at the top of a cliff. The righteous Hebrews mocked, laughed at, and humiliated the witches one at a time, then threw each off the cliff till their death. I believe it was an all day fest. Sometimes I look to the sky and ponder if HP really mean Hebrew Payback.

What do you think about getting one of the massive suites at the Palms - there's one that's 10,000 sq. feet and has a basketball court

http://www.palms.com/suites_villas_3.php

Check 'em out. I don't know the price, but if we had 50 or so people chipping in $100 or $200 each for admission, we could probably swing it easy, any leftover goes towards drinks and food and limos (to tour the condos and new home developments)

Better than renting our some boring conference room

Now THIS would get me coming back from Europe

Someone got the time call the Palms and find out what the deal is

We've got 70 definites or probably's so far in the HP poll. We could max the conference out to the first XX (depends on how much the suite is) first come first serve

If we want speakers like Schiff to come, we could offer to put him up in the suite - wonder how many bedrooms they have. Yes, I get first dibbs (come on - I deserve it, no?)

Peter Schiff is cool but he needs to pay for his own dang room. I guarantee he will primarily promote his own services and book over giving useful data to us peasants. Most of these speakers advertise as part of their speaking and assume their own expenses.

ya ya ya, who will step forward and lead.I love Sin City, and will come out to enjoy the festivities, but only 'cause I love the action - the same reason I still own 2 houses that I could rent out for positive cash flow - this week anyway... Good thing I don't need to rent them out just yet.I will probably get a "crash" room at some dive in the middle of the strip like Hooters/tropicana, but will be staying w/ some local friends for most of the time if possible(I never impose unless invited). As for the "heat" comments - I was out there last August, and it was a welcome relief for me because of the lack of humidity(I'm currently in FL). So as the date approaches, I will be sure to publish my "hold-em" schedule. Anytime not blocked out for poker, I will be available to party, and will not mind dropping/donating some cash to anyone who gets a nice suite to hold "get-togethers". I've been lurking here for over a year, and appreciate much of the advice given - especially from the "tinfoil hats". It would be a pleasure to meet many of you - though I would almost worry about all the REIC who would try to ruin our good times. Well, back to drinkin'-beerwineliquor

In response to people who think HP'ers are gloating and love bad news and pain, let me express more how I see myself and other HP'ers....

I need to refer to the bible, where the HP'ers gathered up a bunch of evil doing RealtyWhores at the top of a cliff. The righteous HP'ers mocked, laughed at, and humiliated the RealtyWhores one at a time, then threw each off the cliff till their death. I believe it was an all day fest. Sometimes I look to the sky and ponder if HP really mean Hebrew Payback.

Yes, now I understand what HP really means. Yea, you just keep readin that bible CalisDead.

Hey ,Two Remax dudes in Bakersfield proclaimed a bottom this morning on 1230AM Radio. Should we invite them?If they're right(no chance) they can gloat,if they're wrong we can have them go full 180 on the radio.OK,lame idea.How much beer we gonna need?BTW where is FMW lately?

Clearly the Republicans are looking at payback time for the Democrats for leaving office with a 9/11 terrorist attack in their lap.

So for the democrats, the republicans will be serving up the worst recession and maybe depression, ever to swallow the global economies.

Not only will the democrats not be able to legislate newly created social programs to rescue folks from their homes, with a few more interest rate cuts the Republicans will insure the democrats will have to begin paying back all the money borrowed by the Republicans and spent over 8 years.

Well I checked out the suites at the Palms to hold our "meetings" and party and they're $5000 to $15000 a night

Still, wouldn't have to get a conference room if we did it that way.

Assume we could get them down to $4000 a night for 2 nights, that's $8g plus $4g for food and booze that's $12g for 100 people (max room size) then $120 each. Might be underestimating total costs, especially if we need limos to the condos or security or taxes etc, but that's a start

So, the question is would you pay $150 to $200 for the event? We'd have to max it out at 100 people with the room, with a few of those being comped to speak

So, the question is would you pay $150 to $200 for the event? We'd have to max it out at 100 people with the room, with a few of those being comped to speak I’d like to give you some money but I only use credit cards. Where I live paying with cash means that you’re either a drug dealer, pimp or homeless. None of your shit for brains retarded renters are going to cough up $150 or $200 for this moronic event that will happen as soon as hell freezes over. After reading your drivel for the past 12 months I have come to the conclusion that all of your commentators are mentally sick asinine imbeciles with a third grade education and Microsoft certification which is worth, let me guess, as much as toilet paper. I just hope that in the impending recession all your lousy paying jobs are going to be outsourced to Vietnam and that’s when I shall see you in front of the homeless shelter banging on your can collecting spare change. I have it on the highest authority that each and every bum under the causeway is 100% debt free, just like you, you f*cked up cock roach chasing 1BR shit-hole dweller.

It is located in DC burbs; an area that used to be white exurbia but is now little Africa.

Sold for 150K (from my folks to my brother) back in 1997, 450K (from my brother to an outside buyer) in 2006.

I see (according to the tax records) it sold for 2.2 MILLION dollars in June 2007. The thing is the lady who bought it sold it to some shell company; I assume she owns the company. So, this is legal. This is okay. This didn't register as fraud with anyone. Someone likely loaned her 2.2M because I don't think she is wealthy. So she can claim the company is bankrupt and pocket 2.2 million or... depreciate it and never pay corporate taxes again.

If this is just one house I looked at, imagine how many more are like this. America the fraudelent.

Anonymous said... I suggest a city like Detroit or other former manufacturing city- so everyone can see firsthand what the entire nation is going to look like in a few short years.

January 22, 2008 3:41 PM============================ THAT would be a real eye opener. Our car club held it's yearly national meet in Pontiac, Michigan and a bunch of us drove over to downtown Detroit to see the gigantic old auto factories, abandoned, unused, but still standing. The devastation is mind blowing. I truly believe that this is what America's cities will come to and it’s scary as HELL! Mile after mile of burned out, boarded up, vandalized buildings, street after street of desolation and despair, no hope, no future, nothing!

This quick link will show you what the future looks like:

http://tinyurl.com/2zon79

or just Google: Urban decay Detroit.

On a lighter note, as seen from space, Detroit is probably the greenest city in America, as nature is reclaiming vast sections.The city can't afford to tear down all the buildings, but Mother Nature will eventually do it for free.

Better documentation of true housing abandonment and neglect is on detroitblog.org. The guy has done some great photos chronicling what has happened there, like the restoration of the urban prairie, etc. You can hardly believe that is an American city. You have to go back a year or so in his archives, because I think he got too depressed and starting highlighting local businesses.

Blowfly said... If you asinine moronic imbecile 1BR shit hole renters really intend to go through with this retarded plan to hold a convention amongst yourselves, then you surely need to have world class entertainment. While I usually don't associate with your kind of scum, I do however believe that money doesn't stink. You can book my mind bending performances via my website unless of course you're too dumb to use Google.

January 22, 2008 9:30 PM

Perhaps you can entertain us with a donkey show, and taking a dick up the ass, after all I think you like it the way the DOW has been performing. Oh, I think you missed a spot on the corner of your mouth... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Anonymous said... I suggest a city like Detroit or other former manufacturing city- so everyone can see firsthand what the entire nation is going to look like in a few short years.

Stuck in So Pa said...The devastation is mind blowing. I truly believe that this is what America's cities will come to and it’s scary as HELL! Mile after mile of burned out, boarded up, vandalized buildings, street after street of desolation and despair, no hope, no future, nothing.

emmy said... Better documentation of true housing abandonment and neglect is on detroitblog.org. The guy has done some great photos chronicling what has happened there, like the restoration of the urban prairie, etc. You can hardly believe that is an American city

OMG. This was/is awful. And to think that cities like Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and others were what built this country.Now they are rotting corpses with no one to bury them.

DRUNK ON THE STREETS OF THE STRIP AFTER GETTING THE FREEBIE BUS FROM THE AIRPORT SURROUNDED BY HOTEL/MOTELS AT ALL PRICES FROM 35 BUCKS AND 5 BUCK ALL YOU CAN EATS...........HEAVEN, BEEN TO THEM ALL..................

Well I checked out the suites at the Palms to hold our "meetings" and party and they're $5000 to $15000 a night

Still, wouldn't have to get a conference room if we did it that way.

Assume we could get them down to $4000 a night for 2 nights, that's $8g plus $4g for food and booze that's $12g for 100 people (max room size) then $120 each. Might be underestimating total costs, especially if we need limos to the condos or security or taxes etc, but that's a start

So, the question is would you pay $150 to $200 for the event? We'd have to max it out at 100 people with the room, with a few of those being comped to speak

Chime in

January 23, 2008 12:35 PM--------------------------

I'm there dude.--------------------------Blowfly,get used to being bitter,and wuddaya have against bums?Sheesh. Shakster

Are you going to warn the HPers from outside the area just how deadly hot Las Vegas is in July? I was there for the 4th of July last year. I remember news stories of people dying from the heat when the electricity (read: air conditioning) went out for a large block of homes.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. homebuilders, lenders and other struggling companies could receive hefty one-time tax refunds this year and next under a provision of the economic stimulus plan percolating in Washington.

NAH SCREW VEGAS in July. it's really hot there and in Vegas people will lose focus on the cause. I think it should be held in the epicenter of the housing bubble ORANGE COUNTY How about Newport beach or Huntington beach for a base. Or san diego Mission or pacific beach. Rent something on the sand, bring your surfboards, beachcruisers, theres plenty of hotties too everywhere in the summer and they dont require a tip. Much nicer on the beach then in Vegas. Then for all those not from Socal you can easily travel to some of the most inflated shithole areas, like most of inland empire, LA, inland OC, san diego, santa ana, temecula and see some real carnage.bring your camcorders for all those 4 sale signs you'll see.

How about the trolls showing up? They are desparate people and might go postal on us...I would love to go just to meet kindred spirits and my husband can finally get to see Las Vegas and play some Texas Hold 'em.

dont get you people..there is a new available victim just fotographed and called martian walking down hillside humanoid, with a whole planet ready to be looted away from, and your diddling with what.........did nobody see those upclose pictures?????? thought they were from NASA...the local newspeople? made a yeti joke and flipped right past it??? tho the 'humanoid seemed not hairy????

July 13th is my Birthday and I think it should called Loserpalooza '08, Bubbletopia '08 or how about The Greenspamonator - any way of having They Might Be Giants? Also, why not contact the hotel to help promote it ... maybe The Hard Rock perhaps ... I'm in (Harry Lime - hint Luna Park, Austria)

Call it the HOMELESS AND SHIT-HOLE RENTERS ANUAL PANHANDLING CONVENTION.

It is very hard to believe that you are wasting each others collective time talking about an event that will surely never take place. In order to rent a hotel suite you need a credit card with a generous line of credit. It would be news to me that any of you retarded imbeciles would qualify for a credit card, leave alone my Black American Express card. Vegas hotels, not even the cheaper ones, don't cater to scumbag morons who pay with nickels, dimes and quarters. My advice to all of you half-witted, idiotic, inane, ludicrous and witless shit-hole trailer-trash renters. Abandon the mind masturbation immediately and get yourself a f*cking FICO score above 200!

I recently heard of a Real Estate Office that had a big sign outside on its front window that simply said “Smart People Are Buying Real Estate Now”. That pretty much says it all.

Here is a great question for any potential buyer out there. Would you rather buy now and have prices go down another 5% before beginning to recover or wait and buy when you have missed the bottom and prices are already on their way back up?

We must understand that the moment we feel we are at the bottom, we will be. When investors think the best deals are now, they will be. However, when we listen to those who keep stating that we are not there yet and believe them, we will make them right.

Action fixes everything. So, if you have buyers who still feel like the market has lower to go, have them tell you how much lower they think it will go and then “Write An Offer” using that number. Don’t wait another minute. Action creates demand and demand creates the upturn we are all waiting for. It will not be magic, but action that begins the recovery.Let me state a simple fact. When America believes we are at the bottom, we will at that very moment be at the bottom. Because when America believes we are at the bottom and this is the best deal they will receive, they will act. Actions create demand and demand will create an upturn in the industry.

As long as we pay closer attention to the media than we do our own common sense, we will not be at the bottom. The media preaches that we are not at the bottom and when we listen, we confirm that. We keep waiting, and that keeps the perpetuation of the downturn in motion.

IF IT IS TRUE THAT THE "ORDER" OF ADNEOSINE, THYMOSINE, GUANOSINE AND CYTOCYINE SAYS YOU ARE WHAT YOU ARE, YOU WERE WHAT YOU WERE AND WHAT EVER YOU WILL BE AND A OF THE AGING IS THE FADING AND WEAKENING OF THE ORDER OF THE ACGT, AGTC AGCTCCGTTCAAGCTGACC.............STRENGTHENING THE "ORDER PERHAPS MAGNETICLY MAY BE YOU FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH AND MULTIPLE DISEASE REVERSAL CAPABILITY. IS THIS SIMPLICITY??????????????????/

I Just watched a 30 minute interview Bill Moyers did with Vanguard Founder John Bogle. He gets it, he says the the U.S. Financial Industry has become too large, too self interested, and too greedy. As Bogle puts it "It's fundamentally a blight on our society. "

Video:http://tinyurl.com/3872nmTranscript:http://tinyurl.com/26yqwg

I could quote the whole interview, his comments are so right to the point, detailed, and spot on. A few high lights below. I wish every one in America could watch this. Basically, there is no way America will recover and survive until Wall Street gets Bogle's message.

"JOHN BOGLE: Banks, money managers, insurance companies, certainly annuity providers. They're all subtracting value from the economy. They have to subtract. To be clear on this now — I don't want to overstate it. To be clear on this, they have to subtract some value. But, the question is--

BILL MOYERS: What do you mean they subtract some value?

JOHN BOGLE:In other words, — you've go to pay somebody something to provide a service. It's just gotten totally out of hand. My estimate is that the financial sector takes $560 billion a year out of society. Five hundred and sixty billion.

BILL MOYERS: Where does it go?

JOHN BOGLE:It goes into the pockets of hedge fund managers, mutual fund managers, bankers, insurance companies. Let me give you this just one little example. If you didn't make a $129 million last year — I'm presuming that you didn't. You don't rank among the highest paid 25 hedge fund managers. A $129 million doesn't get you into the upper echelon."

"And it's no secret that this lack of savings in our economy — just about zero — is putting us at the mercy of foreign countries. China owns — I don't know the exact number — but, let me say about 25 percent of our federal debt. China does. What happens when they start to buy our corporations with all those extra dollars they've got there? I mean, I think that's very-- these problems are long term, are very much worrisome and very much intractable."

"I talk about the frightening similarities between the American economy in America, our nation, at the beginning of the 21st century and Rome all those centuries ago around the 4th century."

"BILL MOYERS: What does it say to you that people seem so indifferent to the fact that one tenth of one percent of the population owns most of the wealth in this country?

JOHN BOGLE:Well, in the long run, I believe it's unsustainable. You know, this is not going to be, you know, a country like France, say, at the time of before the French Revolution. You know, the lords of France, the kings had probably the same kind of distribution of wealth we had today come by through long generations. Their own castles. We have those castles in America now. But it says to me that, in this society, it's not sustainable. There will be an outcry."

I'm not gonna be able to work on this HP PANICcon event this year - just too many miles away and just too lazy and busy to put together a conference

What you do here is invaluable. You and others here are giving a free education to people who would never have figured it out on their own.

Just don't bail. There is plenty of fun coming and you are needed. Real Estate was just the tip of the iceberg, the first flu symptom. Time to jump on the flu itself. Sovereign Wealth Funds, the bankrupt monolines, Fannie/Freddie corruption and the dissolution of our goverment. I get irritated with some of the "dopes", and I don't mean DOPES, but you pull together what is relevant in one place everyday and force us to think about what is happening to us.

And "screw the party", disappointing, and bad language too. Better off organizing a party with a more profession group. Strange strange man.

CalisDead also said...

We definitely need a blow up doll dressed an a C21 suite and names Suzanne's. Could be our mascot.

Yup we're gonna throw them RealtyWhores off the cliff like a good hebrew. I guess a blow up doll sacrifice is better than the real thing. Still would be considered a strange strange man that would do this.

MSM ALERT!! ALERT!! 60 MINS to feature a segment tonight at 7:00 EST on the mortgage and housing mess.

Should be a great source of several video clips.

Well, what do you know. 60 Minutes did their job. Nothing there that HP'ers don't already know (and have known for lonnnng time, but was nice to see MSM actually tell Sheepleville how it really is in California and points east. The scene where they are sitting at the kitchen table and the woman says they are going to walk away from the mortgage because real estate just wasn't going up anymore was chilling. It isn't just Bushco that is not accountable for their bad decisions, its the whole f*ing U.S. of A. Can't wait to head south for Baja.

In the Boston area we have the benefit of having a reputable, independent tracker of the local housing market in the form of the Warren Group which puts out monthly data on housing sales on the same day as the completely discredited and fraudulent MAR. From the latest data, released today, it appears that the deterioration of this market is accelerating. Sales down 23% and prices down over 10% Y/Y. Of course the MAR has "different numbers" and things look fine to them.